Sport shirt



April 24, 1934. F w BRYANT 1,956,489

SPORT SHIRT Filed Aug. 3l,v 1933 ATTO RN EY5 Patented Apr. 24, 1934vIUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE This invention relates to garments, andparticularly to mens outer shirts intended for sportswear, for example,while riding or playing tennis or golf.

The shirt which is customarily worn at present while playing tennis orgolf or riding horseback is the ordinary coat type of shirt with softturneddown or folding collar attached. Such shirts are designed to beworn with neckties, but in warm weather the tension of the necktie drawsthe collar closely about the neck and makes the shirt uncomfortable, sothat it is the usual practice to remove the necktie and unbutton thecollar button, and sometimes theuppermost shirt button, thereby leavingthe neck open. Although a high degree of comfort is secured in thismanner, the neat appearance of the garment is decidedly aifected andthere are many occasions when the ordinary shirt cannot be worn with theneck 0 open and without a necktie.

The object of the present invention is to provide a shirt which is soconstructed that it is as comfortable as the ordinary shirt when wornopen at the neck, and at the same time presents a neat and attractiveappearance, entirely avoid-v ing the objections of the ordinary shirt inthis respect.

Another object of the invention is to provide a shirt which iscomfortable at the neck and attrac- 30 tive in appearance for sportswearalthough Aworn without a necktie, and which can also be quickly andcomfortably adjusted for wear with the conventional necktie if desired.

The invention is illustrated, by way of example, in the accompanyingdrawing and will be understood from the following detailed descriptiontaken in connection with this drawing:

In this drawing: Fig. 1 represents a front elevation of my im- 40 provedshirt with the front and back portions of the shirt collapsed andresting against one another in flat condition, and with the sleevesshown broken away.

Fig. 2 represents a perspective view of the shirt showing the positionsof the various parts thereof when in position on the body of thewearer.'

Fig. 3 represents a vertical section taken on a plane indicated by line3-3 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3a is similar to Fig. 3, but shows a modified construction.

Fig. 4 re resents a fragmentary and somewhat enlarged viv W similar toFig. 1, with the parts of the shirt adjusted to receive a conventionalneck-A tie, and

^ few sizes too large for the wearer.

-Fig. 5 represents a plan view of the upper portion of the shirt showingthe shape of the various parts thereof with the collar unfolded and allparts lying flat in a single horizontal plane.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing, the principal parts of myimproved shirt are in general similar to the ordinary shirt in that theyinclude a back portion 1, front sections 2 and 3, and a yoke 4 acrossthe shoulders'. A collar 5 is provided having a neck-band portion 6, a.turneddown or folding portion '7 and buttoning tabs 8 65 and 9. Thefront portions 2 and 3 overlap one another as is customary with shirtsof thev coat type and are fastened together by means of buttons 10 andbutton-holes 11. The buttoning tabs of the collar are held together bymeans of a '(0 collar button 12. i

I have found that if instead of making the collar of the shirt to snuglyt around the neck as in the case of the ordinary collar-attached softshirt, the collar is so constructed that it will 'I5 drop down at thefront below the Adams apple, ,j the degree of comfort and freedom thusobtained is substantially as great as when the collar button 'of theshirt'is unbuttoned and the upper part of the shirt is worn open. It isdiicult, however, to avoid the appearance of a shirt which is merely aThe collar must be made to lie against the back or nape Iof the neck andstay in this position, and the front portions of the collar must be madeto hug the surface of the body adjacent the base of the neck and notproject out into space .away from the body. In order to obtain thesenecessary results, I construct the line of union 13 between the neckband6 of the collar and the upper margin of the shirt, as shown in Fig'. 5.

At the center of the collar, midway between its ends, that is, at thecenter ofthe back of the collar, this line of union. is curved in thereversed direction from the portions 14 and 14a of this line and awayfrom the longitudinal center line of the collar. This causes the collar,when in position on the body of the wearer, to be pushed upwardly insuch a way that the upper edge of the folded collar will always remainin position against the wearers neck. The portions 14 and 14a. of theline of union 13 are the points which are closest to the longitudinalcenter line of the collar and beyond these portions the line of unioncurves downwardly so as to carry the two ends of the collar over the topof the wearers shoulders and cause the collar to rest upon the surfaceyof the body adjacent the base of the neck instead of hugging closelyabout the neck proper as in the construction of the ordinary shirtcollar. im

Ity has been heretofore proposed to construct shirts in such a mannerthat only a Very few sizes of neck-bands would be required to be carriedin stock, but the diiculty with such shirts is that, as mentionedbefore, they are apt to have an illtting appearance which suggests thatthe wearer merely selected a shirt which is several sizes too large.With the shirt constructed in accordance with my invention as justdescribed, however, this difliculty is eliminated and the collar sitsneatly in place, fitting closely the lines of the body around the baseof the neck.

In my improved collar the ends of the neckband are buttoned together bymeans of the button 12 at a point approximatelylof an inch lower than inthe ordinary soft collar attached shirt so as to just expose the Adamsapple, as illustrated in Fig. 2. By making the buttoning tabs 8 and 9extend at substantially 45 to the longitudinal center line of the collarwhen the garment is laid out flat, as shown in Fig. 5, the front of thecollar is brought into substantially the desired position with respectto the Adams apple.

In order to give the shirt a finished appearance and at the same timeavoid the application of tension to the neck-band 6, as would beproduced by the use of the ordinary necktie, or by necktie partsattached to the shirt collar as has been heretofore proposed, I providethe panel member or dickey 15. The panel member is so shaped as tosubstantially fill the space between the points of the collar 16 whenthe shirt is in position on the body of the wearer, as shown in Fig. 2.It is preferably formed with a widened body portion as shown and with acomparatively narrow upper or attachment portion '1'7 which extendsupwardly over the edges of the buttoning tabs 8 and 9 and is secured tothe inner surface of one of these or to the shirt. This attachmentportion 17 is preferably of sucient width to prevent the panel 15 fromgetting out of place during the wear of the garment because of twistingor turning, and it is arranged to fill the space between the throatportions 18 of the collar. In this way the panel extends in a smoothfold 19 (see Fig. 3) over the uper edges of the buttoning tabs 8 and 9and provides a smooth rounded surface at the front of the neck justbeneath the Adams apple which prevents the irritation of the neck by thesharp edges of the buttoningtabs 8 and 9 and increases to a remarkabledegree the comfort of the shirt.

The appearance of the shirt is enhanced by the use of the panel 15 alsobecause of the fact that the panel conceals the buttoning tabs andcollar button 12. Although the attachment portion 17 of the panel ispreferably of substantial width and the buttoning tabs 8 and 9. aresomewhat longer than the usual collar thereby Aseparating the throatportions 18 to a greater extent 'than customary so as to provide asubstantial width to the fold 19, it .will be understood that theseparts may be made as narrow as desired. It will be understood that theshape of the lower or body portion of the panel may be varied to suitthe taste of the designer, but the panel preferably extends in length toabout the second shirt button 10 from the top, since a panel of thislength is sufficient to provide a nish forthe space between the collarpoint 16 and at the same time is not unwieldy so as to cause annoyance.

The panel 15, as shown in Fig. 3, is preferably constructed insubstantially the same manner as the shirt collar 5. That is to say, itis provided with inner and outer covering portions 20 and 21 betweenwhich is placed a filler portion 22 so as to give about the samestiffness or body to the panel as is possessed by the collar. Preferablythe inner covering portion 20 is provided with a button hole 23 which isadapted to be secured to the second shirt button 10 from the top so asto hold the panel in position closely adjacent the front of the shirtand thereby prevent any annoyance or interference with the wearer whichmight distract his attention.

The attachment portion 17 of the panel is preferably secured to theshirt by the same line of stitching 24 by means of which the buttoningtab 9 of the collar is secured to the front section 3 of the shirt. Itmay, however, be secured directly to the buttoning tab 9 if desired, asshown in Fig. 3a. It may also be secured to the front section 2 of theshirt or to the buttoning tab 8, but that arrangement is not sodesirable as that shown in Fig. 3 where the soft fold 19 is arranged tocover the upper edges of both buttoning tabs 8 and 9.

As shown in Fig. 4, when desired, after finishing a game of tennis orgolf, the panel 15 may be turned inside of the shirt to thev positionshown in dotted lines where it will be concealed from view withoutaffecting the comfort of the wearer, and an ordinary necktie may be wornbeneath the turned-down collar 5. As shown in Fig. 2, the shirt isprovided with short sleeves reaching lnot quite to the elbows but itwill be understood that the sleeves may be of wrist length and providedwith cuffs in the usual manner if desired.

By means of my invention a sport shirt of unusual comfort and extremelyattractive appearance has been provided, and thisresult has beenobtained to a large degree by the use of the folding panel 15 whichrenders the shirt neat in appearance while at the same time avoiding theuse of any tightly encircling band, such as a necktie, about the neck.The provision of the collar of the particular construction abovedescribed so that the rear of the collar will stay in position attheback of the neck and/so that the front of the collar will assume aposition just below the Adams apple, also adds greatly to the comfort ofthe shirt. The use of the panel 15, however, with a shirt having acollar of substantially the customary shape and t produces a remarkabledegree of comfort.

It will be understood that the above merely is an exemplifyingdisclosure of my invention and that changes may be made in the shape andproportion of the various parts, and also in other ways withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as defined in the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. A garment comprising a shirt having an upper portion including aturned-down or folding collar, and a panel member attached to the saidupper portion to swing vertically and hang centrally between the pointsof the collar against the front of the shirt and to ll substantially thespace between the points of the collar.

2. A garment lcomprising a shirt having its front portions adapted tooverlap and button together along the vertical center line thereof, afoldingVV collar the neck-band portion of which is attached to the shirtand provided with buttoning tabs, and a panel member attached to theinner surface of the innermost of said overlapping shirt front portionsand adapted to be folded vertically and outwardly over the top edges ofsaid overlapping buttoning tabs and hang centrally between the points ofthe collar against the front of the shirt.

3. A garment comprising a shirt having an upper portion including aturned-down or folding collar, and a panel member lying against theshirt'l front and having a body portion widened laterally to occupy asubstantial part of the area between the points of the collar, saidpanel member being provided with a narrowed portion extending in a softcurve or fold over the top edge of the shirt between the throat portionsof the collar and attached to the inner surface of said upper 4portionof the shirt.

4. A garment comprising a shirt having an upper portion including acollar adapted to t loosely about the neck, and a panel member attachedto the inner surface of said upper portion of the shirt and adapted toswing vertically and form a soft fold over the upper edge of said collarand hang centrally between the points of the collar against the front ofthe shirt.

5. In combination with a shirt having its front portions adapted tooverlap and button together along the vertical center line thereof andhaving an upper portion including a folding collar, the neck-bandportion of which is attached to the shirt; a panel member attached tothe said upper portion of the shirt to swing and hang centrally betweenthe ends of the collar against the front of the shirt and to llsubstantially the space over one of the buttons on the front of theshirt.

7. In combination with a shirt having its front portions adapted tooverlap and button together along the vertical center line thereof saidportions including a folding collar, the neck-band portion of which isattached to the shirt; a panel member attached to the innermost of saidoverlapping front portions and adapted to extend over the top of theoutermost of said overlapping front portions and hang centrally betweenthe points of the collar against thefront of the shirt.

FREDRIC W. BRYANT.

